Retail & Ecommerce

As many as 25 celebrities and influencers have launched beauty brands over the course of the last three years, according to Business Insider. While some (like Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez) have exploded, others (particularly those founded by social media influencers) are having a hard time finding their footing. What does it take to build a successful celebrity beauty brand?

1-800-Flowers expands its offerings: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the retailer launches an online marketplace to broaden the array of items shoppers can find on the site.

There’s often a perception that markets in Asia developed digital offerings far faster than the US and Europe—that’s only partially true in retail.

Payment startups might be better off cutting costs and scaling back expansion plans until the funding climate improves.

This year, card-not-present (CNP) fraud will account for $9.49 billion in loss, up 8.5% over last year, according to our data. CNP will make up 73.0% of card payment fraud loss this year, up from 57.0% in 2019.

Lowe’s goes from DIY to party planner: The home improvement retailer will begin offering kids’ party packages at select stores in an attempt to build brand loyalty and bring more potential shoppers in-store.

Wayfair is the latest retailer to try to reverse the effects of pandemic overexpansion: The company is cutting roughly 1,750 workers to reduce bloat and get back to its fundamentals.

Nordstrom is the latest department store to report lackluster holiday sales: Softer consumer spending led to higher markdowns, which hurt profits but put inventories in a healthy position going into 2023.

We expect retail sales in India to grow 11% this year: That’s enough to make it the fastest-growing market in the world, which is one reason Amazon is investing in the region.

The Indian payments provider raised $350M for new products to diversify as competition intensifies.

Mobile app install ad spending is on the rise, and more video content on social media means an increase in time spent on platforms. Plus, click and collect remains a popular option for grocery buyers. Our forecasters laid out some good news for advertisers.

Procter & Gamble is determined to push through price hikes: Despite falling sales volumes and softening demand, the CPG giant plans to continue raising prices to cover its costs.

“The customer journey is constantly evolving and it's not linear.” That was the advice of Ram Iyer, worldwide director of digital strategy and ecommerce at Microsoft, speaking this week on the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

Many brands are entering the year with flat—or declining—budgets. You can’t assume what you did last year will work this year, and your average order value and conversion rates could decline from 2022 as consumers continue to be more money-conscious, said Ken Magner, strategist, marketplace search at Tinuiti, in a recent webinar.